Monday, September 3, 2012

So, grad school is weird. Not really. Kind of. Let's back up and start with something I know.

I moved on July 31st. The most time-consuming part of moving in was getting my furniture in a
configuration that I was happy with. Now that classes have started, I realize that I am unaccustomed
to not having my desk next to my bed and I have considered rearranging things to make that possible,
but I'm going to test this out for a few more weeks before I decide for sure.

My first room is L-shaped. The bottom of the L is the living/desk section with my couch, two tables,
desk, two desk chairs, and set of filing drawers. The top of the L is the storage/exercise section with
a giant bookshelf, and an extra wardrobe. Here lives my bike and yoga mat, as well as piano books
and extra school supplies. In the nook of the L is my bathroom. I am in love with my shower head.
It's the little things.

My second room is through a doorway halfway up the top of the L. The top half of this room is my
kitchen with full refrigerator, stove/oven, sink, and my own microwave and toaster oven. There's
also another table which is home to my crock pot and various dry food items. Next to my refrigerator
in the far corner of the room is a door which connects to my building's office. The bottom half of this
room is my bedroom with a wardrobe, chair, bed, and two bookshelves.

Training for my assistantship as the Resident Director for Davis Apartments started on August 1st.
There isn't much to say about that, other than the amount of time spent in training was far greater than
the amount of work I felt had been completed. Then all of the Resident Advisors arrived and it was
more of the same, other than social activity being more organized and mandated.

Move-in was surprisingly smooth, most likely because all of my staff (one ARD and five RAs) are all
returners and know what they're doing. I like them a lot.

Student Affairs and the Department of Housing and Residence Life are interesting. So far, I like it.
I can't say for sure, but I think I am more fit for the job of RD than I would have been for the job of
RA, so it's probably a good thing that I was never an RA during college, as that may have tainted my
opinion of Res Life and made me not apply for this job.

And then suddenly, after feeling like classes were ages in the future and feeling like that feeling was
a very recent feeling, classes started.

Classes started last Monday, August 27. I have a seminar and two classes on Monday, a class on Tuesday,
and field experience on Wednesdays and Thursdays, in addition to eight weekly staff meetings and an
online course. I don't feel too busy yet, but that may be because I had no classes today and because most
of those staff meetings won't start until tomorrow. Anyways, so far, so good, I guess. Motivation has been
extremely difficult to find, but I think that's because I've been in my own head too much lately.

For example, I was thinking about how it would have been nice to get my BSW and then only have one
additional year (...well, a summer and a year) for my MSW instead of two. But that means I would not
have been able to go to college where I did, which means I would not have met the people I did, which
means I would not have made the friends that I did, and so on.

Also, grad school is weird. Yeah, it is. Don't get me wrong, I like my classes well enough, but I think I miss
general education courses. And that feels weird. Maybe it would be more accurate to say that I miss having
a variety of Sociology, Psychology, and Social Work courses. That makes more sense.

I like feeding myself, though. A lot. I love cooking eggs and making yogurt and fresh fruit parfaits and
toast! I like my toaster oven. And pasta. And I used my crock pot last week and it was awesome.

So, aside from feeling braindead and having trouble remembering everything, having trouble finding and
maintaining motivation, and being sad in general from having to cope with such a large transition (and also
focusing on the wrong things), things are alright.